Apps Like Tandem for Speaking With Native Speakers

Tandem is a language exchange app: you teach your language and a native speaker teaches theirs, by text, voice or video. It is alive. Tandem is at version 7.28.0 on the US App Store, released in early November 2026, with a 16+ age rating and Tandem Pro at $69.99 for 12 months, sold by Tripod Technology GmbH.

People look for apps like Tandem for three reasons. Partners stop replying, the free tier feels thin, or they want someone who will actually correct them. The picks below cover free exchange apps, live voice rooms, an old-school exchange website for meeting in person, and paid tutors for when you want guaranteed speaking time. Every pick is a language app with in-app reporting or a published age rule. Dating apps and random stranger-chat apps are left out on purpose.

Prices and status are as of November 6, 2026. If you mostly learn by reading and listening, see our LingQ alternatives. For pronunciation help, see Forvo alternatives.

Our method is on How we review tools.

Quick comparison

HelloTalk

HelloTalk works much like Tandem, with one extra habit built in. Partners can correct a message inside the chat, line by line, and you can post Moments that other members correct in public. HelloTalk's free tier guide says language exchange by voice and text, Moments, Voicerooms and livestreams have no limits on the free plan. Translation, AI correction and voice-to-text are capped per day and reset daily.

On safety, the HelloTalk safety FAQ says HelloTalk is not a dating app, lets you report someone without them knowing, and says moderators can ban members. It also describes the scams to expect: romance profiles, fake investors and pig-butchering schemes that try to move you to WhatsApp or another app. Its advice is to start a video call inside HelloTalk before trusting anyone. The US App Store rates it 13+ and shows 4.6 stars from 44K ratings.

Best for: Tandem users who want a bigger free community and corrections written straight into the chat.

Pricing:

• Free plan with unlimited text and voice exchange, and daily caps on translation and AI correction
• VIP Monthly $12.99, VIP Yearly $79.99 (US App Store)
• VIP adds unlimited translation, up to 25 new partner contacts a day, nearby search and no ads

Watch out for:

• Trustpilot reviewers report bans with little explanation, including a November 2025 review saying posts that mention Taiwan get removed.
• The same Trustpilot page has a December 2024 complaint from a user charged for an annual plan they thought was monthly. Check which plan you tap.

Official site: HelloTalk.

italki

italki used to be a place to find free exchange partners. That side has faded. A user thread from August 2020 complains that partner search kept moving to the background, with more users agreeing into April 2021. Today italki is a tutor marketplace, and its cheapest tier is the closest thing to a paid exchange partner.

The trick is the Community Tutor tier. italki's help centre describes community tutors as friendly, knowledgeable people who offer conversation practice, without the formal training that Professional Teachers must prove with documents. You book a set time, so the person shows up, and you choose a tutor by accent, country and price. The italki price guide, updated September 21, 2026, says trial lessons usually run 30 minutes at 30% to 50% below the tutor's normal rate.

Best for: Learners who want a native speaker who turns up on time, for less than a trained teacher costs.

Pricing:

• No subscription. You buy credits and pay per lesson
• Community tutors can charge $5 to $120 per lesson. Professional teachers can charge $10 to $120
• Trial lessons usually 30% to 50% below the regular rate

Watch out for:

• Free language exchange is no longer the point of the site. Users noticed partner search being pushed aside as early as 2020.
• Cancellation windows are set by each tutor, typically 24 hours before the lesson, per the price guide. Read the policy on the profile before you book.

Official site: italki.

Speaky

Speaky is still running, which surprises people who assumed it had died. The App Store version history shows version 3.7.1 on September 8, which added Cantonese, and a March update that brought a community map, AI partners, new verification steps and content moderation. The Speaky homepage claims 5 million learners and says the app is free to use, with no subscription mentioned.

Speaky has user verification, word filtering, reporting and a support team. A May release also added the option to unblock people. Apple rates the app 18+ in the US, so it is for adult learners only. Tandem's own US rating is 16+.

Best for: Adults who want a free text and voice exchange app with no paid tier to dodge.

Pricing:

• Free, per the Speaky homepage
• The US App Store lists it as a free download

Watch out for:

• Older App Store reviews describe adults sending unwanted messages that have nothing to do with language. The 18+ rating and newer verification steps aim at this, but use the report button early.
• The most visible App Store reviews date from 2022 and earlier, so there is little public feedback on the 2026 versions yet.

Official site: Speaky.

Hilokal

Group voice is where Hilokal differs from Tandem. Instead of waiting for one partner to reply, you drop into a live audio room on a topic and speak with whoever is there. The US App Store listing describes instant audio chat rooms, community-led sessions, themed chats and games, and a community of 1.5 million learners.

When nobody is online, an AI tutor named Goguma, built on GPT-4o, holds text and voice conversations in 26 languages and corrects grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary. You also get transcripts and a pronunciation heat map. Apple rates Hilokal 13+ and lists messaging, user-generated content and advertising among its content notes.

Best for: Shy learners who want to listen first and speak in a group before trying one-to-one calls.

Pricing:

• Free download with in-app purchases
• Premium Plus bundles listed at $11.49, $37.00 and $110.99 on the US App Store
• 7-day free trial of the subscription

Watch out for:

• A 2023 App Store review says the reviewer could not report or block people in a call because they left quickly. The developer replied that it was improving reporting and moderation.
• The App Store listing does not explain what each Premium Plus bundle covers, so compare inside the app before paying.

Official site: Hilokal.

ConversationExchange

ConversationExchange.com is a plain website that has been matching partners since 2005, going by its footer. It offers three kinds of exchange: meeting a native speaker face to face, writing as pen pals, and text, voice or video chat. You search by city and language, which no app on this list does as well.

Meeting natives is described on the homepage as free. There is no app and no matching algorithm. You read profiles and send messages yourself. The latest news item on the homepage is dated December 1, 2024.

Best for: Students and expats who want a weekly coffee exchange with someone in the same city.

Pricing:

• Free to search and contact members, per the homepage
• No paid plans are listed on the homepage

Watch out for:

• The homepage links only to terms, privacy and a contact page. It shows no safety guide or report button, so meet in a café or other public place and tell someone where you are.

Official site: ConversationExchange.

Preply

Preply suits people who keep starting Tandem chats and never keep a rhythm. You subscribe to one tutor, and the Preply help centre says you are charged every 28 days for a fixed number of lessons, with a minimum of 4. The tutor sets the price. Preply's own example: at €10 a lesson, the minimum plan is €40 per cycle.

You can split the same money into shorter calls, for example 8 sessions of 25 minutes instead of 4 of 50 minutes. You can pause renewal once per cycle for up to 20 days, or move lessons to another tutor. Trial lessons are 25 or 50 minutes, per the trial lesson article.

Best for: Learners who want the same tutor at the same time every week.

Pricing:

• No public flat price. Each tutor sets a per-lesson rate
• Subscription billed every 28 days, minimum 4 lessons per cycle
• Trial lessons are paid, 25 or 50 minutes

Watch out for:

• Lessons you have not scheduled before renewal expire, per the subscription article. Booked lessons are protected.
• Cancel at least 12 hours before a lesson or it does not return to your balance, per the trial lesson rules.

Official site: Preply.

Cambly

Cambly is only for English. If that is your target language, it fixes the main Tandem problem of waiting for a reply, because you book video lessons with a tutor instead of hoping a partner is online. The Cambly pricing page lists three plans: Small Groups, Private+ and Pro.

Small Groups promises 100% native English-speaking tutors, though its own description also mentions a mix of native speakers and other accents. There are apps for iOS and Android and a separate Cambly Kids option. The page also lets you explore without a subscription before you pick a plan.

Best for: English learners who want a tutor available when they have a free half hour.

Pricing:

• Small Groups from $24/mo
• Private+ from $56/mo
• Pro from $80/mo

Watch out for:

• English only. Learners of any other language need italki, Preply or one of the free apps above.
• Cambly does not publish minutes per day for each plan on its pricing page, so check the plan details before you pay.

Official site: Cambly.

How to choose

When to stay with Tandem

Keep Tandem if you already have two or three partners who reply. A good partner is worth more than a new app, and starting over means new profiles and new strangers. Tandem's 16+ rating on the US App Store also sits between HelloTalk's 13+ and Speaky's 18+. If you only want to stop paying, try Tandem's free tier for a month before you move.

Frequently asked questions